2019-09-01_TechLife

(Greg DeLong) #1

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SonyHT-S350Soundbar
SONY’S2.1SOUNDBARGOESLOUD,BUTWENEVERTRULYFELTLIKEITWASGREATSOUND.

SOUNDBARSLIKETHESonyHT-S350area
godsend– asbuilt-inTVspeakersaregetting
worse,2.1channelsoundbarsandsubwoofers
havesteppedintomakeourfavoriteshows
andmoviessoundlikethey’resupposedto.
WithSony’sHT-S350,yougetbothinthe
box,andwiththeboomingsoundthey’reboth
capableof,theresultsspeakforthemselves...
well,mumblemightbea betterwordforit.
WhileSony’ssoundbardoesdeliverbetter
soundthanmostTVspeakers,it stilldoesn’t
liveuptothehighbarsetbyother2.1setups.
Onceweunboxedthethesoundbarand
subwoofer,whichcomeinanL-shapedbox,
weimmediatelynoticedhowunderstatedboth
are.Neitherhasa particularlyflashydesign-
they’rebothinmatteblackandthereareno
distinguishingfeatures.
Measuringabout88cmwideand5cmhigh,
thesoundbarshouldbeshortenoughtoslide
undera TV– howeverthatcandependonthe
widthofyourTV’slegsthough.If yourTVsits
toolow,you’llhavetoplacethebarrightin
front;somethingyoucouldprobablydoif you
haveenoughrealestatetoworkwithonan
entertainmentunit.If theTVis wall-mounted,
thenroombecomeslessofanissue.
If you’relookingtogowireless,Bluetoothis

youronlyoption.There’snoWi-Fi,which
negatesanypossibilityofstreamingdirectly
frompopularappslikeSpotify,andnoAirPlay
orcasting,either.That’sa hugemisstepthere.
Intermsofotheraudiostandards,the
soundbarsupportsDolbyDigitaland
DolbyDualMono,butnotDTSorthe
vauntedDolbyAtmosthat’savailablein
higher-endsoundbars.
If there’soneadvantagetosucha basic
soundbarit’sthatthereisn’tmuchtosetting
thisallup.Wehada TVwithanHDMIARC
input,sopluggedinthatwayfirst,butalso
testedit viatheopticalaudioconnection(Sony
includestheopticalcableinthebox,butnotan
HDMIoneandtheadvantageofHDMIinthis
scenariois thatit’sprettymucha one-and-
donejob).WecontrolledvolumeusingtheTV
remote,thoughwealsotestedtheincluded
remotethatcameinthebox,too.
Withupto 320 wattsofpower,theHT-S350
cangetplentyloud,butweshouldprefacethat
bymeasuringexpectations.Thebalancetends
toshifta littlemoretowardthelowend,largely
becauseofthesubwoofer,butthere’salsoa
reasonablysharphighendmostofthetime.
Normally,distortionsetsinwhenyougo
reallyhigh.Here,wefoundthatweneededto

raisethevolumea certainleveltofeelthe
punchyandresonantsoundthesoundbar
couldmuster.Wewereneverblownaway, but
at leastwefeltsomelevelofimmersion.
TheSonyHT-S350hasalltheappeal of
other2.1soundbars– it’sa systemrather than
a singlepieceandit’smucheasiertosetup than
twobookshelfspeakers- butthesumof those
partsis a littletoolimiting.Wewould’ve loved
toseemoreconnectivityoptionsorjust better
soundat thisprice.
[ TEDKRITSONIS]

SO
$3
ww
CRITICALSPECS
320W, 2.1ch Sound bar; S-Force PRO Front
Surround; Bluetooth connectivity; 12.6Kg.

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BEN

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ONY HT-S 350
99
ww.sony.com.au

3

THE BALANCE TENDS TO
SHIFT A LITTLE MORE TOWARD
THE LOW END, LARGELY
BECAUSE OF THE SUBWOOFER,
BUT THERE’S ALSO A
REASONABLY SHARP HIGH
END MOST OF THE TIME.
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